Speedometer



vJune l2, 1923.

E. o. LANGE SPEEDOMETEH Filed 'April '2s 1921 v2 Sheets-Sheet l June 1'2, i923." 1,458,831

E; o. LANGE SPEEDOMETER Filed April 2s, 1921 2 she-ets-sheet 2` Patented June 12, 1923.

ERNESTv o'rTo LANG-nor rHrLADELPHIa, PENNSYLVANIA. i v

' 1 srEDoMETER.

*n.f'Applifcaubn idfap'rniefs, 1921." seria; No. 465,153."

` To @Zlio/tom# mwj'coincjem: vBe itfknown that IQ'ERNST' O. `LANGE, a citizen" et the UnitedStates," residing; at Philadelphia, in thecounty of Philadelphia and :Stat'ejof Pennsylvania; have invented certain new and useful` Improvements -in Speedoineters; and do'declaierthe follow,- ing to bea full, vc'lear'l'a'nd exact description of the invention; 'such as willenable others skilled in the art.l to which it appertainsto make and use the'sani'e. i

This invention` relates 4tol an improved speedometerA 'for use 'in connection with inotor.- vehiclesy and 'onef4 object of' the) invenv `l5 tion is' to provide'la speedometensocon-y structed that it will be visible'to 'persons outsidev the oar thus permitting'th'e speed of a 'car' to 'bereadily" #ascertained byY traffic police and 'pedestrians'as [well as by the oc- Another objectofthe invention is to provide'a` speedometer inol'udingupper fand lower rollers having-"a curtain wound there` on-andl movable-from one lrollei to another so thaty as the speedf'ofthe 4 automobile increases,the curtain wvill be wound from one roller to the other v'anddisclose thei-speed'fat 'which the lautonioble ,is vnioving. Y l

' vAnother object of therinvention isv t'o pro- 39 vide improved n1'eans'-for controlling the movement of the'curtain v"from one 'rollerto the other, this means" including frictional drag means for'releasably holding a lower roller against rotation and providing a spring' lin connection with the shaft of the upper roller so that'thecurtain* can berewound'f'upon the upprer roller v Another object of the invention is jto so construct this speedometer that vadjusting 10 nieans may beprovided fori-*the spring and L frictional drag. f

Another object of' the'invention is to vpro-A vide 'an improved 'magnetic drive for iinparting rotary 'niovenient to the shaft of' the lower roller in order to wind thecurtain uponlthe lowerrolleI- g-f" 'Y Anotheriobject of theinvention is to 'so construct this magnetiodrivethatlfthe mag'- nets formingpait 'of the saine'will be firmly mounted4 and prevented from having Inovernentf toward-or away fromthe disk Aof the roller lcarrying shaft: f 'l f l VfArl'ioth'er objectof .the-invention is' to provide? an improved typeiL-Q''-lhousing.fonthe lmagnetic'drive,--the housing includingA "a chamber Yfor receiving the inagiiet carrying' i i elementsand diskof'th'e `lower roller jshaft and further including algear chamberfclos'e'd sov that this gear chamber may` belilled l lubricating oil.`

Another object'of the inventionis-toiprol i videan improved housing'fo'r theillurrninat!` ing lamp7 the housing .being so constructed that theouter wall'thereofjmay be swung to. an open position andalight socket" carrying'- plate then swung'outwardly tofpeirrnitv yo the bulb being removedor putinlpla'ce.' .l

Another objectA of the invention is Vto" pro vide a speedometer AAof thef Vcharacter""del scribed "which will be,connpactriiifitscohL stii'iiotion andl neat in appearance'xaiid' whi'ol'iv ,WH' Operate in a veryeiiicientinannerw ,K VThis'lnvention is illustrated Lin theraccjom.'

panying drawings; wherein :i y

l `1gure l' 1s av viewJ showing the" speedonieteringiront elevationl 1 bigure yview showing the" speed,"- onieter pr1nc1pally-in vertical section;E the curtain fand' 1 certain y other vfel'e'relents' v1fof the yspeedometerbeing shown "1n elevation-if if Figure 3 isa vertical'transversey "Sectional" view takenalong the line33`of.d lfig.j2. Figurefl -i's a' vertical transversesect Figure 5,155@ Sectional viewffhru'ghth igure (Seis a.s ectionalvie'wfthroia inagnetledrive tak` of Fig. 2;

This kimproved, speedometer/isprovided with a housing having `upper.andflowei" uppery chamber. to the' lower chamber. ffEnd walls 4 and 5 are provided yforthe` housing and provided! withy` inwardly f ,extend-:lag ,l flanges 'f'w'hich are crimped'aboutfthebeads .n

w g i e .alongvfeelinfe @es wformed atith'e sidesof the;housingrsof'th'at the end vvwalls or' heads ofthis housing vill' be' securely held inlhpl'ace. I ll/Vithin the housing- 'is prov-ide having lside brackets v9 which f are" neted by upper-.an'd-lower rodsll; and, "1Q i 'l p so 'n thatithey'* vwilli-be held in 'thepr'op=er a5' i magnetic vdriveV taken alongftheli'ne 25,4#5 of spaced relation and the brackets are further provided with outstanding lugs 13 for engaging the end walls 4 and 5 and holding the brackets in spaced relation to these walls. Shafts 14 and 1-5 are journaled in bearings of the brackets and these shafts carry the upper and lower rollers or drums 16 and 17 upon which the end portions of the ribbon or curtain 16 will be wound. Tt will thus be seen that when one of the rollers or drums is rotated, the curtain will be unwound from one roller and wound onto the second rollr.

In order to have the curtain normally wound upon the upper roller 16 and returned to this roller after being wound upon the lower roller 17, there has been provided a spring 18 which is positioned vertically about the upper shaft 14 and hasA its inner.

end ysecured to this shaft as shown in Fig. 4i The outer end of this spring has a swivelled connection ,with an adjusting screw 19 mounted in a threaded bearing 20 carried by a strip 21, the ends of which are secured to the upper bracket connecting rods 11. It will thus be seen that when necessary, proper adjustment may be given the spring 18 by turning the adjusting screw 19. Disks 22 are mounted upon this upper sh aft 1'4 upon opposite sides of the spring so that thev spring willl be held in vertical position. It is also desired to provide the friction drag `,in order to control rotary movement of the lower drum` or roller. There has therefore been provided a disk 23 having notches 24 formed in its edge portion. A bracket 25 formed from a strip of metal is secured tothe lower rod 12 and is provided with a threadedl bearing opening through which extends a set-screw 25 for engaging a spring strip 26 and moving the freeend portions thereof into engagement with the edge ofthe disk 23. Tt should benoted that this spring strip is bent adjacent its free end as shown at 2T so that the spring' strip may lit into the notches and thus have a firm engagement with the disk.y

y Then this device is in use, it is intended to have the interior of the housing lighted at night so that the numbers which show through the sight openings 28 may be readily seen by pedestrians as wellv as by the driver of the car, These numbers may be painted upon the curtain so that they can be seen during the day and perforations will be yformed in the curtain so that the light will shine .through these perforations and disclose the numbers very clearly at night. The light is supplied by means of an electric lamp or bulb 29 which is carried by a socket 30 mounted upon a partition plate or board 31 hingedly mounted in the housing 32. When the rear door or head 33 of the light housing is swung upwardly to the dotted line position, the socket carrying ifiaaasl board 31 can also be swung upwardly as' shown by dotted lines and a burnt out bulb can then be removed and a new one put in place. Current is supplied by the usual wires 34.

In order to rotate the lower roller to wind the apron upon the same, there has been provided a magnetic drive shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6. This magnetic drive is provided with a housing 35 having upper and lower sections 36 and 37 which are provided With outstanding flanges 38 through which will pass fastener bolts 39. A closure head 40 is provided `with the open end of this housing and is provided with an inwardly extending flange 41 for fitting within the beads 42 of the housing. Therefore when the bolts 39 are tightened, the housing will be securely held about the flange of the l head. lVithin the housing is provided a partition 43 having upper and lower sec.- tions carried by the upper and lower sec tions of the housing and provided in their contacting edgeportions with registering cutouts forming a pocket in which a thrust collar 44 carried by a shaft 45 will be positioned to prevent the shaft from having longitudinal movement. This shaft 45 extends longitudinally of thehousing through the compartment or chamber 46 thereof and into the compartment or chamber 47 thereof. A gear 48 which meshes with the bevel 'gear 49 at the inner end of a'fiexible shaft 50 which extends through the armoured tube or cable 51. Vithin the compartment 47 the shaft 45 fits into the hub 52 of a block formed of bakelite or any other suitable material. This block of bakelite is reinforced by rods 54; the end portions of which are bent to provide lingers extending into the annular wall 53 provided for this block.

A plurality of magnets 55 are embedded in the wall portion of the block as clearly shown in Fig. 2Vand have their arms exv tending inwardly for extending upon opposite sides of the metal disk 56 at the outer end lof the lower roller shaft 15. It will thus be seen that when the flexible shaft 50 is rotated, the conventional means carried by the wheel or driving shaft of an automobile, the block 58 carrying the magnets 55 will also rotate and a magnetic field will be created which will act upon the metal disk 56 and rotate this disk and shaft 15 thus rotating the lower drum or roller to wind the curtain from the upper roller down onto the lower roller with the numbers passing the sight openings of the housing.

The magnetic drivesupplies a torque to the indicating element when rotated which is directly proportional to the Therefore as the magnets vary in speed with the moving car a torque is induced at the disk which is proportional to the speed. Maximum torque on the disk for a speed.

fixed speed exists when the disk is stationary and this position isl determined bly counter torque spring. Torque is supplied the disk by virtue of the eddy currents induced in the disk, when the magnets are ro-v tated, which react on the'permanent mag-v netic field and produce torque, which yat all times is directly proportional to the` speed of the maonets, andalso to the speed of the car. rllhe disk being connected to the lower roller will cause the curtain to move. To reach a state of balance so that the indicating number will record the proper speed7 a counter torque is necessary. This is supplied by the spring on the upper roller. This spring is designed so that the counter torque increases directly with the rotation of the rollers. The counter torque spring is supplied with an adjustment shown in Fig. 4) for urpose of calibration. alongside o the spring keep it erect when under tension. Therefore with the parts as explained the curtain moves back and forth as the speed of the car` varies. To prevent parts of twoy numbers from being visible in a fixed position the friction drag balance is applied as shown in Fig. 4. This cam is set so that the spring drops into one of the recesses on the camwhen the whole of one number is visible. Now before the curtain can moveto the next number in either direction, the torque in that direction must increase to such a value as to overcome the resistance at the cam, and when that value of the torque has been reached itA has enough torque to turn rapidly land conipletely to the next number. The friction at the cam is adjustable for calibration purposes as shown in Fig. 4.

The device will be mounted in front of or at one side of the wind shield, preferably in front of the windshield on the side opposite the driver where it can be readily seen by the driver and'also by traihc police and pedestrians.. It will thus be seen thatthere has been provided a speedometer which will have a magnetic drive and which will operate in a very efficient manner and further will be so constructed that it may be readily seen at night as well as during the day.

It will be further noted that the device is so constructed that the proper adjustment may be given to the upper spring 18 and also the friction drag strip 26 ad]usted so Plates f sired amount.

I claim: i

1. A speedometer comprising a housing, indicating means including a frame in 'said that it will bear against` the disk'l23 the. de-

housing, upper and lower rollers each hav' ing a shaft rotatably carried by said frame, a curtain wound upon v-said-`.rollers, a coiled spring positioned about the shaft of the upper roller and anchored to the shaft, a disk rigid upon the shaft of vthe lower roller, bearing brackets carried by saidy frame, a

spring strip engaging`the disk, adjusting screws carried by the bearing brackets and `having engagement with the coiled spring the housing having a frame, upper and lower rollers having shafts rotatably carried by said frame, a rewind spring for the shaft of the upper roller, a curtain wound upon' the rolle-rs and having indicating characters thereon for showing through the 1 sight openings ofthe housing as the curtain moves from one roller to the other, a fric` tional drag foi the lower roller, and a mag` netic drive koperatively associated with the shaft of the.4 lower roller.

3. A speedometer comprising a housing having a sight opening, indicating means `in the housing including spaced rollers, a

curtain wound upon the rollers and having.

indicating characters' thereon"- forl showing through the sight o-penings as the curtain moves from one roller tothe other, a coiled'A rewind spring for one roller, and rotata-y ble driving means having magnetic association with vthe shaft'of the second roller whereby rotary movement may be transmitted to the shaft of the second roller to wind the curtain thereonagainst the action of the spring as the driving means increases in its speed of rotation, said spring serving to tain 'upon the firstl roller when the speed of rotation is reduced.

` In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

l rotatev they firstroller and rewind the curn ERNEST OTT,oiniiieE-.Iy 

